Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas Cheer

Merry Christmas! The house is decorated, the presents are wrapped, and the cookies are baked. We've seen Santa, looked at lights, and decorated gingerbread houses. We've had lots of fun this Christmas season, despite the unwanted presence of colds, croup, and a suspected sinus infection.

We wanted to mail out our Christmas card this year, but it cost more to print than we could justify spending and we ran out of time with all of us sick. So...here's our virtual Christmas card. Maybe next year we'll be able print and mail.
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Our Christmas tree, complete with wrapped presents - and the best gift of 2011 ♥
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I'll share more of our Christmas festivities later; I'm going to go spend time with my wonderful little family. ♥ Merry Christmas!! ♥

Monday, December 19, 2011

12 Days of Sickness

It's that time of year! Christmas is almost here! We love spending time together as a family, doing fun festive activities and celebrating the birth of our Savior. We love this time of year in so many ways.

But there are other things I hate about this time of year.

Tis the Season...for spreading germs. Cold and flu season. The season of runny noses, sore throats, and croupy coughs. The season of tummy bugs, vomit bowls, and high fevers. The season of doctor visits, ear infections, and antibiotics. Oh yes. It's that time of year.

And boy is our family being hit with it. All 5 of us have at least some degree of cold. I'm starting to feel mostly normal again, except for a lack of voice. John mainly just has a cough. Emma is congested with a croupy cough, sore throat, and occasional fever. Hyrum has the same symptoms as Emma, and then some. Nathan seems mostly ok; he has a little bit of congestion and cough. Lucky baby gets my antibodies.

But Hyrum...our poor little Hyrum went to the ER last night. His breathing sounded eerily like Darth Vader. He was wheezing and pulling at his shirt collar. John took him in while I stayed home with the other 2. Poor baby has croup. They gave him a breathing treatment and a steroid shot. He's doing much better now, but he still sounds too much like Vader. And he's entirely too good at impersonating Gollum. He's also incredibly grumpy from being sick and lack of sleep.

Ha, we're all grumpy from being sick and lack of sleep.

In light of the "joy" of cold and flu season, I reworked the lyrics to a well-known Christmas carol. Parents everywhere will understand entirely too well.

12 Days of Sickness

On the 1st day of sickness, my children gave to me a week of quarantine!

On the 2nd day of sickness, my children gave to me 2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

On the 3rd day of sickness, my children gave to me 3 runny noses
2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

On the 4th day of sickness, my children gave to me 4 sore throats
3 runny noses
2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

On the 5th day of sickness, my children gave to me 5 sleepless nights!
4 sore throats
3 runny noses
2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

On the 6th day of sickness, my children gave to me 6 ear infections
5 sleepless nights!
4 sore throats
3 runny noses
2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

On the 7th day of sickness, my children gave to me 7 doctor visits
6 ear infections
5 sleepless nights!
4 sore throats
3 runny noses
2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

On the 8th day of sickness, my children gave to me 8 bowls of vomit
7 doctor visits
6 ear infections
5 sleepless nights!
4 sore throats
3 runny noses
2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

On the 9th day of sickness, my children gave to me 9 new prescriptions
8 bowls of vomit
7 doctor visits
6 ear infections
5 sleepless nights!
4 sore throats
3 runny noses
2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

On the 10th day of sickness, my children gave to me 10 croupy coughs
9 new prescriptions
8 bowls of vomit
7 doctor visits
6 ear infections
5 sleepless nights!
4 sore throats
3 runny noses
2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

On the 11th day of sickness, my children gave to me 11 grumpy days
10 croupy coughs
9 new prescriptions
8 bowls of vomit
7 doctor visits
6 ear infections
5 sleepless nights!
4 sore throats
3 runny noses
2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

On the 12th day of sickness, my children gave to me 12 boxes of Kleenex
11 grumpy days
10 croupy coughs
9 new prescriptions
8 bowls of vomit
7 doctor visits
6 ear infections
5 sleepless nights!
4 sore throats
3 runny noses
2 days of fever
And a week of quarantine!

I think I'm going to print that off and give it to their pediatrician next time we go in...

Happy cold and flu season! Try to stay healthy. And please, please - do me a favor and keep your sick kids home. Stop the spread of germs and help them recover faster. I'm all for sharing, but not when it comes to germs. Please keep them to yourself. We don't want them.

Here's to hoping we get better by Christmas. I've pretty much given up on everyone getting better for our 5th anniversary on Wednesday. Yeah, no chance of everyone being well in just 2 days. So much for going out on a date...we'll postpone it for when we're all 100% healthy again. I just hope that's sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, we'll do what we can to get well again.

I think I'll go drink some more orange juice. Or maybe disinfect something.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Tangled Up in Birthday Fun

When I asked Emma what theme she wanted for her birthday party this year, she consistently told me she wanted a Tangled party. And I started asking like in May. What can I say, I like to start mentally planning early. Since her birthday is so close to (and sometimes on) Thanksgiving, and John's birthday is a week after hers, we usually have her party about 10 days early.

I wanted her party to be special for her, so to the web I went! I spent lots of time brainstorming and stalking the blogosphere for fun Tangled theme ideas. Some ideas I came up with myself, others I found in my research. All in all, it was an awesome Tangled party. See for yourself!

The invite:
Emma's 4th bday infite
Kit: Sweet's Tea Party, geniaBeana Scraps

I did lots of pre-party prep, like make yarn braids for Pin the Hair on Rapunzel, cute themed signs for the food table, and a tower pinata.
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I strung up yellow streamers ("hair") and hung yellow balloons from the ceiling ("floating lanterns").
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We served the food in frying pans. A special thank you goes out to John for prepping the food while I decorated. Didn't he do a great job? Apparently he has a not-so-hidden talent for presentation.
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I hung up a bunting banner around the table. I found a free PDF on Paging Supermom.
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We started out with a coloring activity as kids arrived. I printed off coloring sheets from Disney Family's website.
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Emma's picture. She's great at coloring for a 4 year old.

Then we released floating lanterns, aka yellow balloons.
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We played Pin the Hair on Rapunzel:
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Emma went first...

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Not bad for having her eyes closed!

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I think it's safe to say Emma won that one.

Then we tackled the pinata - with my smallest, lightest, cheapest frying pan.
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Present time! We let her choose one of the presents from us to unwrap at the party. She got a lot of great gifts; thanks to everyone who came!
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Time for cake!!
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I am not a cake decorator. I can bake a delicious cake, but decorating it prettily...not so much. So I let a local bakery do it for me instead ;)

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And that was her Tangled party! It was such a blast. Now I get to plan a Cars party for Hyrum in January ;)

Emma's actual birthday landed on a Sunday, so we spent a good chunk of the day doing church stuff. I did snap a picture of her exactly 4 years from the moment of her birth. Since she was born at 12:59 AM, she was asleep when I took it.
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All dressed up for church:
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We had a small family party with Tori and Adam. We had pizza for dinner, opened presents, and ate cheesecake for dessert.

Surrounded by presents:
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She was super excited about the Rapunzel doll and dress she got from my mom!

Emma requested lemon cheesecake for her birthday cake. She saw a picture of one when I was looking for Thanksgiving dessert ideas and decided she had to have it for her birthday cake. Good choice! It was delicious.
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Emma had a fabulous birthday!! I can't believe she's 4! She had her 4 year check up today and she's still very tiny; 29 lbs and 37" tall. 6th percentile for weight and 5th for height. But developmentally she's right on track or ahead. She's such a wonderful little girl. I love her so much.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

4 Years

4 years ago, I was preparing for one of the most monumental moments of my life. I was in the hospital, hooked up to a fetal monitor, blood pressure cuff, IV, and an epidural. And I was trying to push a baby out. Emma Rose joined our family at 12:59 AM on her due date. She weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 20" long.

4 years ago, I was officially inducted into motherhood. I had a sweet, cuddly little baby girl. A little girl to love, nourish, teach, and be responsible for.

That tiny 6 lbs 11 oz baby is now 4 years old.

I think I'm going to cry. Has it really been 4 years?

I have a 4 year old. I have a 4 year old. I have a 4 year old!

And she's still tiny...for her age, at least. Most 4 year olds can't fit into 2T clothing...mine can. Granted, they're a bit short on her, but she can technically fit into them.

But she's 4! We've had 4 wonderful years, full of hugs, kisses, and cuddles. 4 years of hilarious Emma-isms, occasional tantrums, and girliness. We've seen her become a big sister twice; watching her love her little brothers is one of my absolute favorite things in the world. She is so sweet with them and such a great helper.

She loves all things girly: princesses, dolls, babies, fairies, clothing, jewelry, make up, bows, nail polish, and more. Her favorites include Tangled, Hello Kitty, and Tinker Bell. She loves every single Disney princess movie.

But she's pretty well-rounded; she likes the "boy" movies and toys as well. She also loves to color, paint, and draw. She's very artistic and creative.

She continually amazes us by how smart she is. We constantly hear her using big words we didn't realize she knew! She can also read a few words (her name, her brothers' names, and a few easy words like cat) and is learning some basic addition and other math skills. I'm sure she knows more than I realize she does.

She makes so many connections and she has an amazing memory. She remembers things that happened over a year ago - even things John and I don't remember in full detail.

She says some of the funniest things! She cracks us up all the time. She's absolutely hilarious. She can be such a goofball.

She loves to sing. She knows the words to sooo many songs: Primary, VeggieTales, Disney, and more.

She's grown and changed so much over these 4 years. And yet, she's still that sweet baby girl I gave birth to 4 years ago:
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Now:
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And a cute video of Emma blowing out her candles at her Tangled birthday party:

For the record, see that shirt? She wore it for her birthday last year. It's a 2T. Seriously.

She is such an incredible little girl. I am so grateful to have her in my life. It's an honor to be her mother. Happy 4th birthday, Emma Rose!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

New Name and Comparisons

I've wanted a new name for my blog for ages. Like, at least a year and a half. I'm still into digital scrapbooking, but my blog has evolved to include so much more. But I could never come up with something that really fit. I didn't want anything with our last name or our location, which simply added to the challenge of finding just the right name.

I think I have finally found the right name for my blog! Eclectic Mom. The URL is still the same, but the overall name has changed. I like it. I think it fits me well. Whenever someone asks me to describe myself in one word, eclectic is always my answer. I am a very eclectic person; I have so many different roles, talents, and hobbies that one adjective alone isn't sufficient. I'm LDS, a mom, a wife, a writer, a musician, a digital scrapbooker, a cook, a baker, and an amateur photographer. I have an English degree. I love to plan and organize fun activities for our family, as well as my tasks throughout each week. How else could I capture all that but with the word eclectic? And so, my blog now has a new name! Finally!

In a previous post, I mentioned that Nathan looks a lot like his big brother Hyrum. So much so that we frequently catch ourselves calling Nathan by his brother's name! Just for fun, I put together a couple of comparison pics.

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I swear they are 2 separate babies! Really! But they really do look a lot alike, don't they? Case in point: Emma saw the 2nd set of these pictures up on my computer and said, "that's Nathan and that's Nathan." And she sees both her brothers all day, everyday. No wonder we keep calling our baby Hyrum!

Emma frequently says, "he's so handsome, just like his brother." ♥

I love that they "just happen" to be in the same outfits. Ok ok, so I kind of did that on purpose...but still. They could totally pass for each other! Thank goodness for technology that keeps track of the dates for me. Although Nathan's red hair helps as well ;) It's fun to have an idea of what Nathan will look like in a couple of years. We love our adorable kids!!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Newborn and Family Photos

My awesome friend Vicki took newborn and family pics for us. We went up to the campus apple orchard. Emma and Hyrum loved playing with the apples and the cute props Vicki brought.

I love how they turned out! If you like her work, check out her Facebook page here.

And on to the pics! These are my favorites:

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I love his red hair!!

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Family pic! I wish I was skinnier in this pic and that I'd had time to straighten my hair. But I had just given birth 2 weeks prior, so I should give myself some slack ;)

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I ♥ this!!

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I seriously ♥ them all. I didn't comment on most because my comments would all be about how much I love each one! Thanks Vicki!! You're the best ♥